CNN

In the weekly Republican radio and Web address, Blackburn said the Presidents plan for energy efficiency will only push the country toward a deeper economic recession.

"If President Obama has his way, the Copenhagen conference will produce mandatory emissions limits that would destroy millions of American jobs and damage our economic competitiveness for decades to come," the Tennessee congresswoman said.

While in Copenhagen, Denmark, next week, Obama is expected to set a goal of reducing emissions to 17 percent below 2005 levels over the next decade.

"Just think of what will happen to small businesses and manufacturers hit with these skyrocketing energy bills," Blackburn added. "With Americans already facing double-digit unemployment, there could not be a worse time to unilaterally disarm our engines of job creation and economic growth."

According to the latest CNN Opinion Research Corporation poll, six in 10 Americans support a "cap and trade" proposal to cut pollution.

Touting her proposed bill H.R. 391, which aims amend the Clean Air Act so greenhouse gases are not subject to the act, Blackburn emphasized the Republicans aren't opposed to energy efficiency.

"Republicans are all for clean water, clean air, and clean energy," Blackburn said. "We just don't think we have to tax people out of their house and home to get there. That's why we have proposed an 'all of the above' energy strategy that says, let's put every clean, responsible energy option on the table so we can create jobs, ease the strain on family budgets, and clean up our environment."

"This 2,000-page bill will drive up the cost of health care insurance and medical care, not down, increase taxes by hundreds of billions of dollars, cut Medicare for senior citizens by hundreds of billions of dollars, grow the federal government by over $2.4 trillion in new spending, push the needy uninsured into a failing Medicaid system, impose a damaging unfunded mandate on our struggling states, leave millions of Americans uninsured, and establish a massive governmental intrusion into management of our health care economy," the Senator from Idaho said. "This is not true health care reform and this is not what the American people want."

Outlining the Republican plan, Crapo emphasized the importance of helping small businesses get affordable health insurance, educating Americans on how to make healthy choices, and allowing people to purchase insurance outside of their own state.

Crapo also encouraged American's to get online and read the bill for themselves.

In Saturday's weekly Republican radio and internet address, Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) said the bill Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed through the House of Representatives last weekend will lead to a government takeover of health care, raise taxes and cut Medicare benefits for seniors, and explode the country's debt.

"In the teeth of the Great Recession, the Pelosi bill would impose ten new taxes on the American economy. The top combined tax rate for my state of Illinois would be four percentage points higher than France. The Democrat bill levies new taxes on health insurance, income and even pacemakers," says Kirk. "The bill also cuts health care for seniors – my parents and many of yours.”

In the address, Kirk also outlines some GOP prescriptions to reform health care.

"First, we could start lowering costs by reining in lawsuits in America. We are the most litigious country on earth. Lawsuit reforms can save billions in health care costs alone. In New Jersey, without lawsuit reform, it costs over $5,500 per patient to provide insurance. In California, with some of the strongest lawsuit reforms, insurance costs half as much as it does in New Jersey. Congress should enhance the effective reforms of many states by enacting lawsuit reforms for our entire country," says Kirk.

"Second, Congress should grant the right to each American to buy coverage from any state in the union – especially if you find a plan that has a lower cost or is more flexible for your family or your small business."

Kirk is a five-term representative from Illinois' tenth congressional district. He's running for President Barack Obama's old senate seat. Roland Burris, who was named as an interim replacement for Obama, is not making a bid next year for a full term in office. Kirk faces less well-known but more conservative Republican challengers in the February primary and Democrats accuse the congressman, who was considered a moderate, of moving to the right on key issues.

– CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

Follow Paul Steinhauser on Twitter: @psteinhausercnn

"As a matter of fact, only Republicans have offered solutions to lower health-care costs and make it easier to obtain quality, affordable coverage without imposing a massive burden on the American people," Boehner said in the weekly Republican radio and Web address.

"We first released our health-care plan in June, and over the last six months, we have introduced at least eight bills that, taken together, would implement this blueprint," he said.

The GOP released the guiding principles of its health-care agenda in June, but did not release a comprehensive legislative blueprint at that point. Republican congressional leaders have said the party is in the process of crafting a substitute.

On the official GOP Web site, to which Boehner referred, the party pledges to formally offer its own plan during upcoming floor debate on the bill introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The site says the Republican proposal will incorporate all or part of the elements of health-care bills introduced by individual members, and a health-care plan introduced by the Republican Study Committee.

Read the rest of this entry »

"President Obama has promised open deliberations in front of C-SPAN cameras for all Americans to learn how reform will impact them. However, a 1,500 page bill, full of carve-outs and backroom deals, is currently being brokered behind closed doors," Johanns said.

"We're about to significantly alter one-sixth of our economy-now is not the time to shut Americans out," He added.

Senate Democratic leaders met Thursday night with White House officials to consider including a government-funded public health insurance option, along with a provision allowing states to opt out of it, in a health care overhaul bill.

Two senior Democratic Senate sources told CNN Thursday that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is leaning toward a public option with the state opt-out provision in the Senate health care bill that will reach the full chamber in coming weeks.

Johanns also questioned the need for the health care legislation if costs remain so high that the majority of Americans can't afford it.

"True health care reform should decrease what you're paying, and make it easier for you to receive care," Johanns said.

Read the rest of this entry »

Brady, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he was pleased to see the Dow industrials close over 10,000 this week, but criticized the administration for not doing enough to fix unemployment. He said three million private sector jobs have been lost since the stimulus was passed in February.

The Republican then took aim at the health care legislation currently moving through Congress.

"The second myth, that government-run health care will make it more affordable?" Brady said. "Americans inherently know government interference drives costs up, not down." He claimed that the Democrats want to "allow the government to decide what doctors we can see, what treatments the government thinks you deserve and what medicines you can receive."

Brady said "our children and grandchildren will end up buried under a mountain of debt" if the Obama administration's fiscal agenda continues.

Read the full script after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

In the weekly Republican radio and internet address, Michigan Congresswoman Candice Miller calls for deeper tax cuts for small businesses and says the administration's stimulus plan has fallen far short of its goals.

"...at a time when both parties should be squarely focused on getting Americans back to work, Democrats are actually redoubling their efforts to implement job-killing policies that will stretch family budgets even further and pile more debt on our children and grandchildren," Miller said.

WASHINGTON (CNN)– In the weekly Republican address, Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson said the Democrats’ approach to health care is "the wrong approach for our families."

"The kind of massive tax increases proposed by the Democrats is exactly the wrong approach for our families, our small businesses and our economy, especially in a recession," Isakson said.

"Republicans believe the key to reforming health care is strengthening the doctor-patient relationship by using choice and competition – rather than rationing and restrictions – to contain costs and ensure access to affordable health care," he continued.

The Democratic National Committee released the following response to Sen. Isakson's health care claims:

"It's a good thing the GOP continues to rotate messengers for their weekly address since the message certainly isn't changing. This week, GOP Senator Johnny Isakson continues to float the same debunked GOP lies and mistruths that Republican have repeated for weeks – apparently with new hope that their tired message will resonate with the American public."